Communication with Communities in Lebanon March 2018

TOOLS

WHAT INFORMATION?

5 UNHCR reception centers/desks7,000 counseled per month

Bulk SMS & 2-way SMScommunicating with 270,000 families known to UNHCR

4 UNHCR Hotlines7,000 calls per week

Whatsapp communication tree55,000 families reached through 8,000 focal points (refugees and partners)

Facebook140,000 members in groups run by outreach volunteers

Call Center40,000 calls a month on food/winter/cash assistance

TOOLS: HOW REFUGEES ACCESS INFORMATION AND GIVE FEEDBACK

Persons of concern Humanitarian workers

Information is disseminated in Lebanon with the ongoing support of partners and hundreds of outreach volunteers.

Refugees need information about:

Resources & Services

Policies & Regulations

www.refugees-lebanon.org320,000 unique viewers

How refugees want to receive information

Means of sharing information

COMMUNICATION SURVEY

A Communication Survey was conducted by phone in 2015, surveying 2,000 refugees.

Info Material: Handouts & videos

30+ partner information desksin community centres in every district

2018 PRIORITIES1. Intensify on-going awareness and counsellingsessions in-person and over the phone toaccompany the available information

2. Promote timely access to appropriate services

3. Involve communities in the planning andimplementation of activities that affect their lives

4. Constantly further the use of modern technologyand online tools (i.e. websites, mobile phones andsocial media networks)

Outreach efforts household visits, network of outreach volunteers, etc.

Internet sources

Has a mobile phone Sharing phone with family/others

2.5%

2.7%

8.9%

11.4%

13.8%

62.5%

93.1%

Radio

Leaflets and Posters

Outreach Volunteers

Internet

Television

Home/face-to-face visits

Mobile phone and SMS

32%

37%

95%

Internet(Whatsapp/

Facebook)

Phone/SMS

Word of mouth

11%

20%

30%

75%

Google

Facebook or similar

Viber, Skype or similar

Whatsapp or similar

Yes

No 94%6%

60%

40%

Sharing phone Has own phone

Prepared by UNHCR | For more information contact Jerome Seregni, Mass Communication Officer, at seregni@unhcr.org.

DEFINITION

Communication with Communities (CwC) is an essential part of any humanitarian operation. UNHCR and partners are working to ensure that Persons of Concern* (PoC) not only have the right to participate in making decisions that affect their lives, but also receive the information they need to be protected and have access to life-saving services and support. CwC is defined as a two-way communication between PoC and humanitarian actors.

* PoC to UNHCR in Lebanon include refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and affected host communities

NEWS

Humanitarian Innovation Lab (HiL) project: A dedicated team of developers are working to create technical tools for CwC (Facebook dashboard, chatbot, app for cash and food assistance etc).

Inter-agency call center with UNICEF and WFP for queries on cash, food, winter assistance and emergency protection to be launched in mid 2018.

• Some UNHCR humanitarian programmes are complex and are constantly being updated with new plans and procedures(i.e. basic assistance and health).• Assistance is provided in multiple forms (ATM cash assistance, vouchers, in-kind) depending on needs and locationconstraints.• The criteria for eligibility are diverse (e.g. economic vulnerability, protection concerns, dwelling type or geographicallocation).• With more than 90 organizations operating in the country, it is difficult to ensure harmonized key messages are given to PoCby all humanitarian workers.• National and local policies affecting the daily life of PoC must be explained in simple terms.• Consistently reaching refugees with information about their individual cases (such as resettlement opportunities, civildocumentation, etc.)

ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH COMMUNITIES

Maintaining permanent contact at the individual level

• Living in hard to reach areas that cannot be visited by humanitarian workers on a frequent basis (security issues, etc.)• Frequently changing phone numbers and location• Cannot read or understand the information in messages• Lack of phones or sharing phone with other community members• Limited access or do not know how to use the internet and social networks (Facebook, Whatsapp)

THEMATIC QUESTIONAIRE: ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION TOOLS

Prepared by UNHCR | For more information contact Jerome Seregni, Mass Communication Officer, at seregni@unhcr.org.

A UNHCR survey on practices of communication was conducted between January and February 2016 with 1,929 persons.

The survey shows a significant expansion in the use of online and mobile communication in exile. This has become the current lifeline for access to information for refugees. Refugees opt for the cheapest options to get access to these communication tools, such as sharing mobile phones with the cheapest mobile subscription or home-based wireless costs among several families, or going to community centres or internet cafes. The majority use social applications like Facebook and WhatsApp to communicate with each other, their families in Syria/elsewhere and to receive and, most importantly, share information on services and assistance. In turn, humanitarian partners use these tools on regular basis to communicate on essential services, as they are an efficient and low-cost way to reach out to large numbers of people, including those living in remote areas.

% With access to a mobile phone

% With access to the internet % Using of online applications (Facebook, Whatsapp, etc.)

% Possessing an ATM bank card % Who want to receive information through leaflets or brochures in Lebanon

% Who received information through leaflets or brochures in Syria

54%Previously in Syria

92%Today in Lebanon

2%Previously in Syria

68%Today in Lebanon

2%Received information through

leaflets/brochures in Syria

3%Want to receive information through leaflets or

brochures in Lebanon

10%Previously in Syria

75%Today in Lebanon

12%Previously in Syria

73%Today in Lebanon

Creating easy-to-understand messages

ATM card No ATM card